Brian Ashcraft

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has confirmed to Kotaku that "a number of projects" at Sony's Liverpool studio have halted. However, rumors are swirling that the restructuring goes further than that.

Originally known as Psygnosis, the studio was founded in 1984 and is best known for the anti-gravity WipEout racing games. During the 1980s, the studio released titles on hardware like the Commodore Amiga. In 1995, Psygnosis was sold to Sony Computer Entertainment and became a wholly owned subsidiary. It is the oldest SCE studio in Europe.

Sony's official statement on the Liverpool restructuring reads: "It has been decided that production on a number of projects within Studio Liverpool will cease immediately due to project prioritisation. Our North West Studio Group has been and will continue to be a vital cog in the WWS family, with a history of producing genre defining games such as MotorStorm, WipEout, Formula 1 and WRC and this decision will have no impact of the role that the North West Studio Group will play in the future of all PlayStation platforms."

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Website Develop, however, is rumoring that the restructuring will ultimately slash studio staff by half. One developer told the site that the Sony measures were "looking heavy" and estimated that "around half us may be gone".

Sony did not comment on whether or not half of the studio was going to be terminated.